IllustrationRECALL WORK PERFORM ON MOTORBELT, HOWEVER CONTINUES TO NOT WORK.
1992 Mazda Protege
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1992 Mazda Protege do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 66.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Protege years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 3 of 63 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Seat Belts. Review the 34 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
5 crash reports1 fire reports6 injury reports
What owners actually said
63 reportsDRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE REAR SHOULDER BELTS DO NOT RETRACT, CAUSING THEM TO BE INOPERABLE. *AK
MOTOR BELT FAILED TO OPERATE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE; DEALER NOTIFIED AND REFUSE TO REPAIR BECAUSE VEHICLE WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. *AK
CYLINDER HEAD AND SEAL PREMATURELY FAILED. ENGINE SHOWED VISIBLE SIGNS OF IT GOING BAD. SIGNS INCLUDED ROUGH START AND IDLE AND LARGE AMOUNTS OF WHITE PUFFY SMOKE FROM EXHAUST.
THE VEHICLE WAS ON, CONSUMER SMELLED SMOKE AND NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN AREA DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL SHORT WITHIN THE HARNESS. CONSUMER CONTACTED THE DEALER, DEALER STATED WIRING HARNESS WITHIN THE STEERING COLUMN NEEDED REPLACING. *AK
SEAT BELT SOMETIMES LOCKS WHEN IT'S MOVING BACK OR FORWARD. THE ONLY WAY TO RELEASE IT IS TO USE THE EMERGENCY RELEASE.
THE RESTRAINT LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALERSHIP CAN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK
AUTOMATIC SEAT BELTS FAILED. ALSO, FRESH AIR VALVE BUSTED WHILE SWITCHING FROM RECIRC TO FRESH AIR. IN ADDITION, MANUFACTURER'S INSTALLED RADIO REPLACED. *AK
AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT FAILURE; ALSO, FRESH AIR VALVE BUSTED WHILE SWITCHING FROM MRECIRC TO FRESH AT FREEWAY, AND MANUFACTURING INSTALLED RADIO REPLACED DUE TO MALFUNCTIONS. *AK
BOTH FRONT SEATBACKS COLLAPSED AFTER BEING HIT FROM THE REAR AT A COMPLETE STOP. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. *AK
Official recalls
115V674000 · Electrical System:ignition:switch
Oct 19, 2015
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 1989-1998 MPV, 1990-1995 323, 1990-1998 Protege, 1992-1993 MX-3, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, and 1993-1998 626 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, grease applied to the contact points inside the ignition switch may become conductive and overheat.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2015. Owners may contact Mazda Customer Experience Center at 1-800-222-5500, option#6. Mazda's number for this recall is 8715J.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2EA94039 · Auto Restraint System Fail
Opened Nov 30, 1994 · Closed Nov 26, 1997
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seat Belts
There is no summary currently available
PE94059 · Auto Restraint System Fail
Opened Jul 28, 1994 · Closed Nov 30, 1994
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seat Belts
There is no summary currently available